Springbank 15yo

The Maker

What is there to say about Springbank which hasn’t been said many times before? Over the past decade it has easily become the most desired Scotch, if not whiskies in general, on the planet. This desire has led many releases to become instantly unobtainable to the average drinker, with resale prices rising beyond good reason on auction sites. There is a darker side to this which I’ll come back to, but it suffices to say that anyone who’s into their whisky will know what Springbank are all about, and why most of them will want several bottles in their collection if they can get them.

Founded in 1828 by the Reid Brothers of Campbeltown, the distillery was born into what was then the capital of Scotch whisky production. In that period Campbeltown was home to close to thirty distilleries employing hundreds of people that drew on local barley and coal supplies to produce tens of thousands of litres of whisky each year that could easily be supplied to cities such as Glasgow, Belfast and Liverpool that were just a few hours away by ship. Ownership of the distillery quickly changed to the Mitchell family in 1837 where it has remained ever since.

Yet despite the dominance of Campbeltown in the 1800s by the end of the Victorian period the region was on the decline, and by the 1920s there were just three distilleries left. Not long after it was down to just two in the form of Springbank and the still surviving Glen Scotia. Scotia however, went through a series of closures and reopenings in the subsequent decades meaning that Springbank is the only consistently open distillery in the region (although it’s fair to say that production was ‘sporadic’ at best by their own admission at times so just how consistent its opening was is up for some debate).

Nevertheless, throughout the years Springbank has survived by remaining small, traditional, and focusing on ensuring what it did produce is of the highest quality. This included the development of a range of core age statement single malts from lightly peated barley that are all subject to a 2.5 times distillation process. Such a process is not hugely dissimilar to the likes of Mortlach with their famed 2.81 times distillation, but due to the nature of how that 0.5 is produced, each iteration of it is always going to be distillery specific.

Building on this success Springbank launched two further whisky brands on site in the form of a more heavily peated traditional twice distilled Longrow in the 1970s, and the unpeated (air dried) triple distilled Hazelburn in the late 1990s. They also reopened the nearby Glengyle distillery (which the Mitchell family first founded then sold off) in 2004 where the same team now produce the equally well-loved Kilkerran whisky for several months of the year.

In addition to all this, Springbank’s other USP is for being the only Scottish distillery left where every single step of production talks place on site (save the farming of the barley). As far as I can establish a small number of other distilleries, most notably Islay’s Kilchoman, could in theory achieve this as well, but currently do not do so for every product - thereby leaving Springbank as the holder of this unique status.

Yet I began this review by mentioning a dark side which I am increasingly seeing highlighted on internet forums and wider social media chatter. The observation that while Springbank products are in much demand everywhere (far beyond supply), there seems to be some places in the world where bottles are relatively easily obtainable (mainly the USA and Asia), and other places (mainly the UK and Europe) where it’s much harder to get them. From what I can work out I suspect that this is caused by the decisions of Springbank.

A good example of this was last year’s special PX 10yo release. At the time of release Springbank stated that the outrun was 10,800 bottles. Whisky fans will know that such a number is actually rather high for a special release of this type. While definitely not enough to meet global demand, that number is surely high enough to ensure most places will get a decent stock to sell on. Yet major online retailers in the UK were responding to customer inquiries to explain that they were only being supplied with as few as six bottles each – that’s hardly supplying existing contracts well. One significant UK retailer said they were only given four bottles and saved them for a Black Friday event – I have to confess I didn’t buy any given that opportunity as reviews were very mixed.

Even with the assumption that some retailers were holding a few back for staff and favoured customers, then at most such retailers were only getting a few dozen bottles each. That's hardly anything for what is after all Springbank's domestic market. Add to that the regular reports I read of Springbank being on the shelves of stores like Total Wine across the USA, or behind hostel bars in Japan on a regular basis, while in the UK supplies are still selling out in minutes on specialist websites, only suggests that at the very least a decision has been taken to prioritise global distribution.

Obviously if true this is their decision and they can no doubt justify it. Equally, I probably wouldn’t complain if I lived in one of the parts of the world they are seemingly prioritising. But I don’t, and when I combine it with the fact that both of my local independent whisky shops have had their multiple requests to become suppliers ignored, I can’t help but be left with a sour taste with the suspicion that the scarcity is being artificially inflated, and that they don’t really care if their fans in the UK and Europe get hold of their products.

In truth the whole thing leaves me with little desire to chase their releases in future. If it’s available I’ll consider it, but there’s enough great whisky out there to buy until I see a change. Yet with all this negativity I also want to end by flagging that Springbank have always been extremely fair with their pricing. They know they could charge two or three times as much for their whisky and lower the quality and still sell it all (looking at you Ardbeg!), but other than very special or old releases, everything they put out is affordable and of the highest quality if you can get it. This is enormously to their credit. But anyway, back to the whisky itself.

The Expression

This 15yo expression was produced in June 2021 – batch variation is apparently a big thing with Springbank. Like all 15yo Springbank it was produced from 100% sherry matured malt; is non chill-filtered and all natural colour. It’s bottled at the ever popular 46%. In other words this is a straight talking integrity release just as you’d expect.

The Neck Pour

Very soft on the nose initially. Light brown sugar heading towards toffee with plenty of citrus on the palette. Then comes the Sherry kick that’s very fresh. Finally there’s a treacle bread that adds a savoury layer on top of the sweetness. The finish is then super smooth and rounded with a hefty kick of green apple and a touch of tannins and spice which edge towards bitterness.

What this reminds me most of are some of the Yamasaki releases like the 18yo we used to be able to buy before the prices for Japanese whiskies went wild a decade ago. Everything is there in near perfect balance which leaves the drinker very satisfied. Hard to have a better start to a bottle than that!

The Body

As the bottle has oxidised six months on I have to confess that the taste has to my mind depreciated from that initial impression. The balance has eroded somewhat with the sherry and spice coming to override some of the softer sugars and apple I had enjoyed so much previously. It’s still very good of course but not quite what it was.

To some extent this has been added to by the fact I’ve also been drinking some of Springbank’s 10yo and 12yo Cask Strength alongside this. Both of which, if I’m honest, I consider to be better whiskies, or at least more to my taste. Maybe it’s the just the batches I’ve had, but based upon the three I’d say that the 15yo is the weakest Springbank. For full transparency I should also add that I do tend to prefer the Longrow (see my recent 18yo review) and Kilkerran profiles anyhow. But obviously this is still a very high bar so it’s kind of like saying which is your least favourite Mercedes given that they’re all pretty good.

That said there is still a lot here to enjoy. I particularly like how this batch is very finish orientated. It’s like you get a second wave of flavour long after you’d expect it to be done. It’s a warm Oaked Sherry with hints of spice, but nothing too overwhelmingly.

Final Thoughts

Coming to the end those Sherry notes are becoming increasingly dominate on both the nose and palette. That treacle bread is still there and adding a nice savoury note, but what I’m starting to taste coming through more and more things like hazelnuts and even a hint of milk chocolate. I’m not sure where these have been hiding in the upper two thirds of the bottle but have been a pleasant additionality nonetheless.

In finishing the bottle I’m left considering whether to replace it given how hard they are to come by. My gut reaction is that if I want this heavy sherry influence I’m probably better off getting my hands on another GlenAllachie 10yo Cask Strength given that for my money it delivers more of what I want here for significantly less hassle. Equally if I wanted more Springbank I would probably safe myself £25 and get the trusty 10yo. I simply prefer it.